Dierks Bentley made memories with a dynamite set

CRAVEN — Dierks Bentley wasn’t about to take a back seat to anyone, even his buddy Luke Bryan.

One night after Bryan thrilled the crowd at the Craven Country Jamboree, Bentley took to the mainstage Saturday night and delivered a ridiculously entertaining performance.

While Bryan’s set was all about the sizzle, Bentley’s 17-song, 80-minute set was something any country music loving fan could sink their teeth into.

The 38-year-old Bentley is a singer, a songwriter, an entertainer and a showman and on this night everything that could go right, did go right.

Bentley has a charisma and a magnetism that just draws the fans to him. It might be a cliche but all the women want to be with him and all the guys want to hang out with him.

With a layout that featured a massive video screen, a large riser in the middle with a smaller riser on each side, Bentley and his band made an impressive entrance, emerging from behind the centre riser and descending stairs to stage.

From that point it was game on. He powered his way through 5-1-5-0, Free And Easy (Down The Road I Go) and Am I The Only One before taking a moment to catch his breath and addressing the crowd.

“Happy Craven y’all,” said Bentley, who last played the festival in 2008. “Looking out at this crowd I can tell that we’re not the only ones who want to have fun tonight.”

Bentley unveiled an additional verse for the song specifically referencing the Jamboree. To finish it with a bang, Bentley hauled a fan on to the stage so they could each shotgun a beer. For the record, Bentley easily won the contest but that might be because he apparently practices a lot.

That wasn’t the only fan participation portion of the night — when he broke into Getting Drunk On A Plane, Bentley spotted a female fan dressed as a stewardess. He brought up on stage and while Bentley sang, the fan — Amanda Neufeld of Moose Jaw — danced up a storm.

“This is a first y’all,” an amazed Bentley said at the end of the song. “Somebody put that sh*t up on YouTube because we need to do this every night. People don’t do stuff like that in the States.”

Bentley made sure the fans weren’t the only ones having fun. At one point he put his faith in his fans and went crowd surfing in the mosh pit. I’m not sure what was more impressive — the fact that he continued to sing while crowd surfing or that he emerged from the crowd unscathed.

His show also benefits from the quality of his material. Bentley’s catalogue includes the get crazy and have fun songs like What Was I Thinkin’, Sideways and 5-1-5-0 but he can also toss out tunes with an emotional hook Every Mile A Memory, Come A Little Closer, Bourbon In Kentucky and I Hold On.

And let’s not forget his high-octane bluegrass songs like Up On The Ridge. Fuelled by a mandolin, fiddle and banjo, the tune was simply amazing.

That, it turns out, is an apt description of the performance — it was simply amazing.

1. 5-1-5-02. Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)3. Am I the Only One4. Tip It on Back5. Feel That Fire6. Every Mile a Memory7. Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do8. Bourbon In Kentucky9. Up On The Ridge10. Counting Stars (OneRepublic cover)11. Pretty Girls12. Come A Little Closer13. Drunk On A Plane14. I Hold OnEncore15. What Was I Thinkin’16. Sideways17. Home

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